DESIGNERS

Mark Daniel

Mark's background is in architecture which he studied both in Atlanta and in Paris.

It was while studying architecture that he learned to appreciate that what goes into a space defines it as much as the walls that enclose the space. The scale of furniture was particularly appealing, as the design integrity of a piece could be maintained more successfully than in the design evolution of a building.

Mark's goal is to create products that are inspiring, functional and affordable in the hope that by bringing good design into people's homes, their lives will be enhanced.

Mark is based in Chicago and runs Slate Design, Ltd - an award winning design firm that specializes in product design for both manufacturers and retailers. Some of Slate's clients include Crate&Barrel, CB2, Land of Nod, Z Gallerie, and Design Within Reach.

Amanda Ip

Travel has always been an integral part of Amanda's life and inspiration.

Born in Sydney, Australia, she has also lived in London and Singapore, but considers Chicago home. She spent 4 years in the hometown city of Andy Warhol, someone whom she has always been inspired by, and received her bachelors degree in Industrial Design from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

With internships at LTW Design Works, TEAMs Design and Webb Scarlett De Vlam, she has gained great experience in interior and product design, but after taking a furniture class her senior year of college, really found her love for design in furniture and joined Slate Design in 2007.

One of her biggest achievements to date, was being recently announced the winner of the Live/Work Design Contest sponsored by Dwell Magazine and Design Within Reach for her Innermix desk.

Alexander Muspratt-Williams

Alex was born in Hong Kong; studied in London, and with a First Class Honours in Product and Furniture Design, has now enjoyed 15 years of experience worldwide in some of the industry’s most desirable offices.

After his internship at IKEA of Sweden, he started as apprentice to Ross Lovegrove, where he worked for 4 years on a rich variety of ultimately creative projects.

In ’04 he moved to Conran and Partners in London, as Senior Product Designer, and worked across the consumer product spectrum from Furniture Design, to Product Design, and Lighting.

In ‘07 he was appointed as Motorola Design Lead for Mobile Devices in India, and was assigned to deliver relevant design to the markets, and to analyze the latest interaction and mobile activities, in the fastest growing mobile community in the World.

More recently Alex spent 4 years in both Europe and the US as Design Manager for Tupperware Brands, working on a truly global portfolio that is modernizing fast. He worked across all product development areas, to deliver premium products and experiences for the kitchen and home, for one of the most trusted names in homewares.

In 2013, Alex opened his freelance consultancy business ‘alexandercreate’, which offers product and furniture design consultancy services to product development businesses within global organizations of all sizes. Much of his time is spent as Senior Consultant to the Director of New Product Development at Kohler Brands, working on kitchen and bathroom portfolio strategy, planning, design, and development.

He continually strives to deliver simple, desirable, and meaningful design that creates both editorial interest, and significant value for his business partners.